Avatar: A one in a life time chance
by ImaginationxBright
Summary: A young girl is accepted by the Na'vi. She accompanies Jake through the story and more :D Tes'tey x OC First fanfic :3 AN: Okay so I know I haven't posted in a while. I just started college. I will put a author note in the chapter to explain to you all.
1. Chapter 1 Arriving

Chapter One- Arriving

My eyes opened as I took a deep breath. I stared at the steel ceiling not even inches from my face. You would think one would feel refreshed and ready to go, but that wasn't really true. I felt sick and sluggish. The small bed I was laying on started to move; soon I was exposed to the large cryo vault. Hundreds of cyro capsules opened like the drawers they put the dead in at the morgue. Medical technicians bounced around in the zero-gravity tending to their patients. They were a mix of military and scientists. My body hovered over my drawer slash bed thingy. I would have been floating away do to the lack of gravity if it wasn't for the straps that held me down to the bed. A med tech floated to me smiling.

"Rise and shine, hun. We are finally here." He said with a grin. To my left I heard a hoarse whisper.

"Are we there?" It was a man, he seemed to be in his early twenties. The med tech who had spoken to me grinned.

"Were there, Sunshine."

People all around me began to pull themselves from their capsules. I unfastened the straps and pulled myself up. The man next to me got out at the same time. He gave me a goofy grin as he floated a little.

"Jake Sully, nice to meet you." He smiled to me holding his hand out to me. I smiled and took his hand shaking it.

"Ashlyn Peters, it is a pleasure to meet you Jake." He smiled. Before he could say anything else a voice came a crossed a loud speaker,

"People, you have been in cryo for five years, nine months and twenty two days. You will be hungry, you will be weak. If you feel nausea, please use the sacks provided for your convenience. The staff thanks you in advance." The voice ended and I looked to Jake, we both rolled our eyes .

He pushed away from his capsule and glided towards the lockers a crossed the aisle. That's when I noticed his legs. He was paralyzed. I felt pity overwhelm me. I couldn't help it. I was an emotional person when it came to these things. He looked so strong, he must be a soldier…Rather was a soldier. I pushed away from my capsule over to the lockers and searched for my name. Quickly finding it I used the key that had been given to me on the necklace around my neck. I retrieved my backpack and duffle bag.

After grabbing my stuff I floated toward the shuttle that had windows. It would be taking us down to the moon. I saw the giant gas planet Polyphemus, it was known to be ringed by dozens of moons, Including Pandora. I stared in awe. It was a beautiful sight.

We were ordered to strap in for our decent to Pandora. I was so excited. This was a rare occasion I would be one of the youngest to step foot on this planet. I was only nineteen. I knew we had made it into Pandora's atmosphere when my butt actually touched the bench.

We were flying over massive cliffs and towering mesas carpeted in rainforests. Great scarves of clouds swirled around the mesa tops. The landscape looked untouched and beautiful. It was vast and forbidding. All the trees looked alien, they were too cyan. I smiled thinking to myself; truthfully, we were the aliens not this land. Looking back out the window a flock of winged creatures passed next to the shuttle. They were huge, a mixture of a dragon and a dinosaur if you asked me.

Soon the forest began to thin and I felt pain strike my heart as an open-pit mine came into view. A lifeless crater like a cookie cutter had taken a chunk out of the world.

I heard soldiers joking about the hole and the scientist's comments of horror. Excavators and trucks roamed the area. They looked to be at least three stories high. Soon we came a crossed the human colony.

I sat back done seeing all of the destruction humanity had already inflicted on the land. The crew chief stomped down the aisle.

"Exopacks on!" He yelled.

I strapped mine to my face and looked around. Jake seemed to be having a bit of difficulty, but I didn't want to offer help. He seemed like he would be one to be offended by the offer of help. The exopacks we wore were lightweight filtration systems. We needed these because Pandora's air was toxic to the humans. I was snapped from my thoughts when the crew chief began speaking again.

"Remember people, you lose your mask you're unconscious in twenty seconds and you're dead in four minutes. Let's nobody be dead today, it looks bad on my report." The crew chief stopped by Jake long enough to bark,

"Exopack on, let's go!"

I couldn't help but to giggle when Jake stuck his tounge at the crew chief. He gave me his goofy grin from before. I knew I was going to see more of that smile.

Everyone was queued up in the aisles, with their duffle bags ready. I could feel the tension. Everyone stood straight, well almost everyone. Jake was slouched in his wheel chair. The cargo ramp opened with a hydraulic whine.

"Go directly into the base! Do not stop! Go straight inside!" the crew chief yelled.

I didn't run or walk fast. I took my regular normal pace. There was no rush in my mind. One of the large machinery passed by the tires reminded me of the old World War II tanks. I grimaced as I saw the arrows prodding out of the rubber. They looked as big as me. Apparently the relations with the indigidous were not on friendly terms. Not too far away there were some soldiers lounging around. I heard a whistle and I turned to see one wink at me. He pointed to me and rocked his hips. I narrowed my eyes turning away and heard the laughing. Men infuriated me so much, how could they publicly be idiots? Didn't they care about how others saw them? I let my nerves relax as I let my eyes wonder over the vast open fenced area.

"Look at all the new meat." I heard one say. I knew they had seen Jake when I heard the surprise and jocular tone in the man's voice,

"Check it out, man. Meals on wheels." The first man looked over in Jake's direction as I hovered near the door.

"Man, that's just wrong." I heard the first man say. I rolled my eyes. Jake rolled up near them and I grinned.

"What are you two limpdicks starin' at?" I heard Jake say and I just laughed moving closer to the door.

"Seen many men leave in wheel chairs, never seen one come in one." The man said getting up and leaving. I was still laughing at Jake's comment as I entered the station.


	2. Chapter 2 Military Scum

Chapter Two – Military Scum

We were to report to the OPS center for debriefing. I could hear Jake pumping his wheel chair behind me. Up above on the second story over look, a man stared at all who passed by. He wore a uniform so I knew he was a military man. His hair was clipped short. His scalp was etched by long parallel scars where I guessed he most likely got from one of the creatures out in the forest . His arms were bare and his sleeves were rolled tightly and neatly. Scars laced his arms from previous battles. Military scum. The man disappeared from my view as I continued.

At the end of the hall a soldier directed all the "newbs" to the cafeteria. The man who had been watching them from upstairs was now watching the hundred new arrivals. He was pacing a crossed the front of the room like a caged panther. He stopped and stared at everyone. I had gotten a seat on the end next to Jake. I could tell we were going to be good friends.

"…You are on Pandora, ladies and gentlemen. Respect that fact every second of everyday." He rose and pointed out the window toward the dark tree line.

"Out beyond that fence every ling thing that crawls, flies or squats in the mud wants to kill you and eat your eyes for jujubes." The room got very quiet. I rolled my eyes. Typical military scum. Everything and everyone is out to kill you and want to steal our freedom. Kill or be killed. It sickened me.

"We have indigenous population of humanoids here called the Na'vi. They're fond of arrows dipped in neurotoxin, which can stop your heart in one minute, We operate…We live at a constant threat condition yellow." I mentally scoffed not wanting to draw attention to myself. Everyone seemed to be sucking up every little word he spoke. I looked over to Jake. He was listening but calm. He wasn't getting wrapped up in the bull shit like everyone else.

"As head of security, it's my job to keep you alive. I will not succeed," He waited for a dramatic effect. It seemed to work. The others in the group had faces of shock and fear. He continued.

"Not with all of you. If you wish to survive, you need strong mental attitude, you need to follow procedure…" I glanced over to Jake he seemed to be soaking it all up. The debriefing ended and I yawned and stretched.

Jake and I exited together. People passed us going in all different directions, looking for rooms, lugging their duffels and cases. Not too far behind us a tall lanky guy with an over packed duffel moved towards us. I couldn't help but laugh as he bumped into others trying to reach the two of us.

"Hey, you're Jake right? Tom's brother? You look just like him." Jake gave him a look. I rose a brow and he mouthed he would tell me later. The guy continued.

"Sorry, I'm Norm Spellman, I went through avatar training with him." He held his hand to Jake. Smiling weakly Jake took his outstretched hand shaking it and then let go. Norm looked to me and smiled.

"Oh, hi. I'm Ashlyn Peters. I just got out of school. I am planning to go into Biology and my aunt who was on Pandora decided she would try and pull some strings for me to get here. Lucky me. She got me into the Avatar program at the last minute. Don't have very much training yet though. Unfortunately when I got here I learned that my aunt had passed from a form of cancer. So now I am up here alone…" I smiled lightly. They could tell it was forced. They both looked at me with sympathy. Norm went back to talking about Tom, Jake's brother.

" He was a great guy…Funny. It was a big shock to us." Jake gave a frown at Norm's words.

"Yeah." He replied simply. Jake sped his pace a little with norm on one side and me on the other.

"And duh!...Obviously you look like him. I mean, if you weren't genetically identical, you wouldn't be taking over his avatar." Man Norm was smart, but he wasn't too bright. He couldn't tell this subject was bothering Jake so much.

"That's why I am here." Jake really seemed like he didn't want to talk about his brother with Norm just yet. I sent him a look and he shut his mouth before beginning on something else about Tom. He mouthed to me that he was sorry. I just rolled my eyes.

"So… You want to go check it out?" I tilted my head. What was he talking about? What could we go look at? We just got here. I sighed. Once again. Men were idiots.

"Oh I meant the Bio-Lab" Norm added quickly seeing the confused looks on our faces. Jake and I exchanged grins as we nodded. Child like curiosity running through us as Norm led us to the Bio-Lab. We chatted about different things. Since Jake didn't want to talk about his life he always twisted things so Norm would ask about my life on Earth.

"I can't say that it was very interesting. I mean I just got out of High school. Now that I think of it, I am most likely the youngest here." I shrugged as I looked to the other two. I was happy that I had finally found a couple people to hang out with. I would be dreadfully bored if all I had was work and paper work.

"Well what was your high school life like? I mean you must have been popular, you do look pretty… Not that I am hitting on you or anything." I giggled as he added the last part quickly. Even Jake had a grin on his lips.

"Like I said I am not very interesting. I was kinda the loner in school. I just focused on my studies and kept my grades at the highest in my class. But don't get me wrong. I did have my fun." I grinned as we continued towards the Bio-Lab.


	3. Chapter 3 For Science

Chapter Three- For Science

Jake, Norm and I entered the Bio-lab. It was a large lab complex with many adjoining rooms. It reminded me of the ancient Sci-Fi movie settings. A scientist that seemed to know Norm smiled in greeting to us. I walked over to Norm and the scientist as Jake looked around the lab.

"Me and Norm were out here to drive these remotely controlled bodies called avatars. They're grown from human DNA mixed with the DNA of the natives here."

I looked to the scientist supervising the uncrating of two shipping containers. The closest one to me had the sides removed, to show a ceiling high acrylic tank. Norm moved closer to me and stared. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jake roll passed Norm as if he was being lead by some unseen force toward the amino tank. I turned and followed after him. Inside the tank, a figure floated lanquidly inside, it looked like a man to me. A very large, very blue man. Blood seemed to circulate through the synthetic umbilical in the abdomen. As the figure turned in the amniotic fluid, I saw a tail. It reminded me of a lemur tail. The skin on the creature was cyan- blue. His long black hair drifted gracefully like seaweed in the ancient oceans.

"Damn. They got big." Jake said in a tone mixed with shock and surprise.

"Yeah, they mature on the trip out." Norm said before he turned to Max.

"So the proprioceptive Sims worked pretty well." Max smiled at us and turned so he could fully look at us.

"Yeah, they've got great muscle tone. Give us a few hours, you guys can take them out for a spin." Jake stared at his avatar. The sleeping face turned toward us. The features are despite the feline ears and the long feral snout, looked like Jake.

"Looks just like him…" I heard Jake mumble. Norm moved to his side.

"No, it looks like you. This is your avatar now, Jake." Jake stared at the tank mesmerized. Max came over to me and led me to another tank.

"This one is yours." He smiled before turning away and returning to his post at the desk. He kept a watchful eye on eyes. Not that he didn't trust us. Just in a protective manner I would say. I turned my gaze onto the tank. The female creature floating was beautiful. She was smaller than the other two, but still bigger than a human . Her Cyan skin was flawless. It was amazing. She was absolutely beautiful. She looked nothing like me. Her features could not be described by words. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Jake and Norm came to see my avatar.

"She is tiny." Jake said smiling at me. I giggled. If Jake was able to stand I would be the shortest of the trio. Norm and Jake complemented her and me. I was happy I couldn't wait.

"Why don't you get settled in while we prepare your avatars. Get something to eat. You three were in cryo for almost six years. You must be starving." Max looked at us with a gentle smile. He was fatherly. It was a nice change that people actually cared. I could tell I was going to like hanging with the scientists more than the military personnel. Of course Jake was the rare allowance to that. He was half of both. He was strong like a marine and doing the work of a scientist.

Jake, Norm, and I headed towards our rooms to set up and get comfortable. As if some force of nature were intertwining our futures together wanting us to stay with each other, our rooms were clustered together. My room was on the right side of the hall and Jake and Norm's were side by side on the left side of the hallway. I gave a small wave before going into my own room.

In my room it was simple. I didn't expect anything special. It was a bed with a set of drawers under the bed a desk and a bathroom. I grabbed my medication and set it on the edge of the bathroom's sink.

Going back into my room, I pulled my blanket and pillow out that I had brought from home. I neatly made my bed before putting my clothes and personal items into the drawers under my bed. I set my sketch book on the desk before leaving my room. Norm and Jake were waiting. Knowing them they just threw their stuff onto their beds and went back into the hall. They laughed at me when they heard my stomach growl.

"Let's go get us some chow!" Jake said wheeling towards the cafeteria with Norm and I following after him.

After eating we returned to the Bio-lab. Jake was being taught how to make a video log.

"…So their nervous systems are in tune. Or something. Which is why they offered me this gig, because I can link with Tommy's avatar, which was insanely expensive." Jake turned to look at us. I was spinning around in a chair while behind me Norm and Max were working.

"Is this right? I just say whatever in these video logs?" I giggled as Norm looked up to stare at Jake.

"Yeah, you just need to get into the habit of documenting everything…What you see, what you feel…It's all part of the science. Good science starts with good observation." Norm was too smart. I just grinned at Jake.

"Right. So, whatever. Here I am. Doing Science." Jake looked around a bit.

"Never been in a lab before." He said as his eyes darted around the room. I couldn't help but to laugh. Jake gave me his lop sided grin.

"Log off. It is time to meet your boss for the next five years." Max said as he stood up. Oh great this should be fun. Hopefully he or she was nothing like colonel scar face.


	4. Chapter 4 Walking Dictionary

Chapter Four- Walking Dictionary

Max led us to a hallway outside the Bio-lab. I hated the bland walls in this whole base. They lacked color. It was just so boring. I sighed as we entered a room, it was large. There were a dozen or so boxes that looked like coffins crossed with MRI scanners. If my memory served me right, they were called Psionic Link units. Norm was amazed of the lab. Apparently he had been in one of these labs before. This would be Jake and my first time. I felt out of place in the lab. Sure I wanted to be in one for the rest of my life. I found science extremely entertaining, but everything in here looked extremely breakable. I know if something happened I would get chewed out for it. I moved slowly and made sure my arms were at my side and not swinging. Don't break anything. I warned myself mentally as I tuned back into Max.

"Grace Augustine is a legend. She's the head of the Avatar Program, and she wrote the book…I mean literally wrote the book on Pandoran botany." Norm was like a book. He knew everything.

"That's because she likes plants better than people." Max said in a low tone over his shoulder. Jake and I snickered. We jumped as a loud yelling startled us.

"Who's got my goddamn cigarette?" A tech jumped up and scurried to her. It was already lit. I grinned. I guess around here they jump when she barks. She puffed on her cigarette as we approached.

"And here she is, Cinderella back from the ball. Grace, I'd like you to meet Norm Spellman, Ashlyn Peters, and Ja…" He had been cut off by Grace.

"Norm. I hear good things about you. How's your Na'vi?"

"_May the All Mother smile upon our first meeting." _Norm spoke in perfect Na'vi. I could understand the language perfectly. Speaking it on the other hand I couldn't speak it fluently but I could get by with what I knew. Grace nodded her head approvingly as she took a drag of her cigarette.

"_Not bad. You sound a little formal."_

"_There is still much to learn." _ Jake and I waited as Norm and Grace chatted to each other in fluent Na'vi.

"Uh, Grace, this is Ashlyn Peters and Jake S…" Once again Grace interrupted Max. She turned to Jake.

"Yeah, Yeah, I know who you are, and I don't need you. I need your brother." She turned to Max who looked a bit uncomfortable.

"You know…the one with the PhD who trained three years for this mission." I frowned if she was chewing them out I was afraid of what she was going to say to me. My eyes were on Grace and back to Jake and up to Max. Oh boy. This is going to be interesting. Be good, Jake. I said mentally in my head. I knew he wouldn't hear me.

"He's dead. I know it's a big inconvenience to everyone." I looked to Jake and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. This made me frown. He deserved to be able to smile and feel happy. Grace shouldn't attack him like this. Sure she needed Jake's brother…But he wasn't here. Jake was. She needed to take what she was given.

"And you, Ashlyn Peters. You are just lucky to be here. Your aunt was a remarkable woman. It is only because of her you are here. I don't know how she convinced them to make an Avatar for a kid." I looked away and sighed. I needed to count or I will lose it.

**One.**

I need to calm down…And control my anger…

**Two.**

This isn't working…I am loosing it…

**Three.**

Screw it…

I took a deep breath and looked at the woman. Grace, the one who was supposed to be my boss. She wasn't too smart to me. This is for Jake and me. A small grin ran a crossed my lips before I started in.

"I know you are some great scientist, and you are all kinds of smart. But that gives you no right to treat me or Jake like we are something next to nothing! You would have jumped at the chance to come here at my age! I am not some spoiled brat who begged and whined and threw a fit until I got what I wanted. Get that through your damn head." My chest rose and fell as I huffed. I started to calm myself down as quickly as I could. It was extremely quiet. No one spoke. Everyone but Grace was looking at me in complete shock. Crap.

"You've got some balls kid. I like that. You need to control your anger though." I sighed in relief. I thought I would end up being sent home on the next shuttle. Grace turned to Jake.

"How much lab training have you had? Ever run a gas chromatograph?"

"I've dissected a frog before." He replied simply.

"Any actual lab work at all?"

"High school chemistry. But I ditched." I grinned. I found it funny…But I don't think Grace did. Grace turned to Max.

"You see? You see? They're pissing on us without even the courtesy of calling it rain. I'm going to Selfridge." She turned and shoved passed Jake. I could hear her shouting profanities as she exited the lab.

"Someone's got a stick up their butt." Jake grinned at my comment. This is going to be fun. Max turned to stop Grace calling after her.

"Grace, that's not a good idea." But she was already out the door and clomping down the corridor. Max turned to us.

"Here, tomorrow, oh eight hundred. Try to use big words." He said sighing and looking towards the door Grace had left from before going to work.

Norm, Jake and I left discussing the topic of big words. Not only is Norm smart but he is a walking dictionary.


	5. Chapter 5 Unobtanium and Phobias

Chapter 5- Unobtanium and Phobias

Grace was pissed. Selfridge was in charge of the whole Pandora operation. But that didn't mean Grace was going to play nice with him. She turned into a room that looked like air-traffic control tower. Not that I have ever been in air-traffic control before. Anyways, there were a lot of screens and large bay windows that showed the whole complex. As Grace entered the room she saw Selfridge. He took a ball from a newly opened case of golf balls and he set the ball on the floor. Selfridge was young, charismatic and focused. But if you asked a scientist what Selfridge really was, let's say me for an example. Looking at what is said about him, I would say he was young, stuck-up, self-centered, and a push over. I might also include ruthless.

Selfridge assumed his stance and lined up his putt. He glanced up as he saw Grace striding towards him.

"Parker, I used to think it was benign neglect, but now I see you're intentionally screwing us." Grace was pissed.

"Grace. You know I enjoy our little talks." Parker was still focused on his putt.

"I need a research assistant, not some jarhead dropout." Grace had her arms crossed as she stared Selfridge down. He seemed to ignore her as he hit the ball. It looked like a straight shot right into the cup. Annoyed, grace kicked the practice cup aside, and the ball rolled past its original goal.

"Oops." Grace said glaring at the man. Parker sighed as he looked up to Grace.

"Actually, we got lucky with him."

"Lucky? How is this in any way luck?" Selfridge walked past her to get his ball.

"Well, lucky your guy had a twin brother, and lucky the brother wasn't an oral hygienist or something. A Marine we can use. I'm assigning him to your team as a security escort." Grace did not look happy.

"The last thing I need is another trigger happy asshole out there!" Grace threw her hands up in the air angrily.

"Look you are supposed to be winning the hearts and minds of the natives. Isn't that the whole point of your little puppet show? If you look like them, if you talk like them, they'll trust you?" Selfridge crossed the room to his office that was behind a wall of glass. Grace followed after him and leaned against the door frame.

"But after… How many years? Relationship with the indigenous are only getting worse." He was staring at Grace who had put her hands on her hips.

"That tends to happen when you use machine guns on them." On Parker's desk sat a magnetic base, hovering above it in mid-air, was a lump of metallic rock. Parker grabbed the rock and held it up to Grace. It was wedged between his fore finger and thumb.

"This is why we are here. Unobtanium. Because this little gray rock sells for twenty million a kilo. No other reason. This is what pays for the party. And it's what pays for your science. Comprendo? He placed the rock back on the magnified base.

"Those savages are threatening our whole operation. We're supposed to be finding a diplomatic solution. So use what you've got and get me some results." Selfridge turned from Grace.

It was night time as I laid in my bed. I sighed boredly. This was going to be a long five years. Maybe longer. After Jake, Norm and I had left the link room we went to dinner. I had been starving. I have to say I feel smarter after chatting with Norm. He was helping us learn "big words." Well really he was teaching Jake. I have a nice vocabulary I would think. But what entertained us was learning the word for the phobia of big words. . Yes…I will defiantly have nightmares now. After finding out that Norm knew the names of all the phobias, Jake and I started to question him.

"What is the fear or phobia of spiders?" Jake asked. I smiled. That was one of the more known ones. Norm responded quickly.

"Arachenephobia or Arachnophobia." I raised my hand in the air signaling that it was my turn next.

"What is the phobia of Russians?" Jake laughed as I asked.

"Ash, I don't think there is a phobia of Russians."Jake butted in, Norm looked up from his meal smiling.

"Actually, there is, Russophobia." A soldier sitting behind Norm stood up and glared down at us.

"Do you 'ave a problem with Russians?" We stared up at him and shook our heads. When he was completely out of ear shot Jake and I broke out into laughter. That had been the best thing I had ever seen. Noticing Norm was still frozen in fear we laughed again. No correction. Norm's reaction was the best thing I had ever seen.

So I came up with the conclusion that Jake has . The fear of big words. Norm has Russophobia. The fear of Russians. And me? I turned onto my side to look towards my bath room where the pill bottle was. I had the Panthophobia… The fear of suffering from a disease.

I have Myasthenia gravis, this is a neuromuscular disorder. I can't move as fast as other people. And my movements I do have are a great struggle. I make it look like I am moving just fine. Only I know the pain of my movements. This disease is a slow killer. I took the risk of going through six years of cyro to get to Pandora. The doctors back on Earth had estimated about ten years…So simple math. An estimated four years were left. Being up here on Pandora is amazing. No one knows…I am treated normal. I love it. But I know I am going to have to tell Max for sure and probably Grace. She was my boss after all. She needed to know if my link was broken out of nowhere. Oh boy…This is going to be fun.


	6. Chapter 6 Memories

Chapter six- Memories

They bring smiles to our faces, tears to our eyes, and sometimes both at the same time. Losing a loved one is devastating, but we have all been left with a special gift - our memories. They are often the only things we have left after that special person is gone. Though at times they may be painful to think about, with them, our loved ones remain a part of us forever.

November 13,2129

Cpl. Carver Peters, Freeman, and two other members of his military unit were killed while on a patrol in Afghanistan's Kandahar province Saturday. The soldiers died when a suicide bomber detonated a vest bomb.

At the age of 20, Carver was the oldest of Art and Maria peters' three children. Growing up, he was always surrounded by a number of cousins, aunts and uncles.

I was thirteen when I got the news that my brother was dead. He was my best friend, my whole world, and now he was gone. He always believed in me. He knew I loved science and knew I was hurting from all of the pollution going on here on Earth. He told me stories of a planet far away in another galaxy. It had no pollution it was beautiful and rich with plant life and weird animals. He was the one who started my dream and pushed me to excel towards becoming a scientist. On my twelfth birthday he got me a microscope. It was the best thing I had ever seen. We spent an hour looking at different samples taken from the garden in the apartment complex. He was an amazing person.

It was a week after my birthday I was diagnosed with my disease. I cried. My parents couldn't afford to get me the cure. It was either the house or me… I talked them into keeping the house. If the cure didn't work then they would be homeless after my death. I couldn't let that happen. Carter was nineteen when he enlisted. He was saving all of his pay to take care of me. Like I said. He was my best friend. He was deployed to Afghanistan when peace efforts took a turn for the worse. The supply of natural oil had run to its end and this foreign country had what was left. My brother was sent by his commanders on a suicide mission. He had no idea…But they knew. They were sacrificing their soldiers. That's when we got the visit. A man dressed in a black suit came to the door. I had pulled myself out of bed. I was having a bad episode today.

"Please call all members of your family residing in your home into the room." His voice was a monotone and his eyes empty. This was never a good sign. Dad helped me into the room and then got my younger sister Lisa. She was three years younger than me. The man had made us sit down as he prepared himself to talk.

"The Secretary of War regrets to _inform_ you, Carter Peters has died in the line of duty. His platoon and others when to an enemy camp…" I had tuned out. I was in shock. My brother…Carter. He was gone. Dead. Never coming home. This was all my fault. If I hadn't of gotten sick he wouldn't have enlisted. He was too smart to be in the military. He joined so he would have money to pay for my medication. I heard my mother's cries when the death sunk in with her. Dad had his poker face on. I knew he was devastated. This was his only son and now he was gone. I couldn't cry. I was just smothering myself with guilt. The man with the black suite and the shiny shoes stood up and gave his condolences to my parents and he left. He must of done this a hundreds of times to not be infected by the reactions anymore. He was completely emotionless.

I began coughing. Harder and harder. Soon droplets of blood began collecting on my hand. My mother just looked at me pained. She knew it was my fault. Dad pulled her away as she began yelling at me, but it didn't stop me from hearing her words.

"If you weren't sick than your brother would still be here! It is your fault he is dead! I hope you know that! This is your fault entirely!"" She was upset. I knew that. But it didn't stop the words from cutting deep gashes in my heart. I know. This is my fault. I am sorry mom. I am sorry Dad. Carter you shouldn't of died. If you would have just let me suffer you would be here. I didn't need you to lose your life for my medication…This isn't fair. I am so sorry.

I sat up from bed breathing hard. My heart was pounding in my chest. My memories haunted my dreams. I wiped my hand a crossed my face to remove the tears. I heard knocking on my door and a muffled voice calling my name. I slowly got up still sniffling and moved to the door. It was Jake. He had a look of distress on his face.

"Ash, are you okay? I could hear you crying from my room." I looked out in the hall to see if anyone else was there. No one was. I let Jake roll into my room as I closed the door after him. Making my way to my bed I sat down sighing.

"I wasn't crazy you were crying. There are tears all over your face…What's wrong?" I smiled weakly at him. He reminded me so much of Carter. Maybe that is why I was so drawn to him. He was Carter's replacement.

"Nightmares…Same thing for the last five years…Besides the cryo… " He patted my shoulders. He was a brother to me. He cared for me and me for him. Even though we just met..We just clicked I guess.

"Yeah I am having them too. What are they about? It always helps to talk about them. You know?" I smiled weakly and explained to him about what happened. He nodded his head. He understood.

"You know I lost my brother too. It is the reason I am here on Pandora. I was at a bar one night. I don't know why but I felt like picking a fight. Ever since my accident in battle I have always hated everyone. I was jealous. They could walk and I couldn't. Anyways, this guy had made a comment about my legs earlier and I had found him in the bar. I let all of my anger and frustration out on him. I pulled the chair out from under him and launched out of my chair to start beating on him." He grinned at the memory.

"I was thrown out of the bar and my wheelchair after me. Heh. When I looked up there were two men. In black suits and shiny shoes. They were there to tell me my brother had been shot and killed. They had no emotion when they gave me the news. And not even a minute later they told me what they were really after. RDA wanted to save the money they had spent on the avatar for Tommy instead of waste it. It is the reason I am here."

I smiled a bit. It was funny. Jake was crippled from the waist down but still managed to get in a fight. I hugged him. He had given me someone to talk to. He gave me a brother again.

"Any time you are feeling low or something is bothering you... Tell me, it always helps. It is nice to have someone you can rely on." He smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Time for sleep kiddo. We have a big day tomorrow." He laid me down and kissed my head. I closed my eyes hearing him roll out.


	7. Chapter 7 First Link

Chapter Seven- First Link

The automatic alarm clock went off at dawn. Damn I hated those things. I groaned not wanting to get up. I didn't get much sleep with the nightmares I had last night. I wished Jake would have been able to stay with me, but I didn't want to bother him at all. I know I was needy and I hated it. At least I knew Jake would be there for my first link. Just like I would be there for him. Plus we had Norm too, which would help us a bunch. I sighed as I lifted myself from the bed with a sigh. This was going to be a long day.

I moved to the bathroom to get ready for my busy day. A simple shower and to take my medicine. I pulled out my bathroom bag and dug through it. I grabbed the medicine pump they had given me after cryo. I was going to have to pull Grace and Max to the side and inform them of my medical problem. Oh this is going to suck. I finished and headed out the door. My mind set on the cafeteria. To my surprise Jake was waiting for me with a friendly smile.

"Hey how are you feeling today?" He rolled up next to me. I gave him a weak smile.

"Didn't really sleep to good. Nightmares came back. Kinda hoping to get my mind off of everything today and just focus on the link today." Jake simply nodded.

"Yeah…I know…Dr. Augustine is going to chew me out today when she finds out that I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing." He gave me a lopsided grin. Of course I giggled at him. He was like a brother. As long as I had him I think I will be fine here on Pandora.

We chowed down on some food before we headed to the link room. Norm was already there. He looked like a giddy child. Jake rolled in next to me as we looked around. Not too far away was a large window. I moved to it and glanced through. There were three avatars. Norm's, Jake's…and mine. She looked so small compared to the other two. But she was still beautiful. Grace entered the room her white lab coat fluttering behind her.

"How much link time have you logged?" Grace asked Norm who had popped next to her.

"Five hundred and twenty hours." She nodded her head approvingly and pointed to a Link bed for Norm to climb into. Then she looked to Jake.

"Like an hour…" He looked away towards me with a puppy dog look. He knew that he was going to be yelled at. I couldn't help but pout my lip for him. He really knew how to use that puppy look of his. And as an added bonus he had the injured card. I remembered the old posters of the animals that had cute little sayings. Like 'yous stolen muh cookiez', well this is what Jake reminded me of. Although his would say 'don't be mad at mes, I is hurteded.' I grinned and tuned back into their conversation.

"Tell me you are joking…How about you?" I turned from the window and glided over to Jake. Grace was over by a second bed and was setting it up for him.

"Oh…Bout three hundred hours." She nodded her head as she turned to help Jake get into his bed.

"Don't! I got this…" I watched as Grace backed up her hands raised. Jake was pulling himself into the link bed by himself. Grace motioned for me to get into the bed next to Jake. I moved and climbed into mine waiting until Jake was set.

"So you just figured you'd come out here to the most hostile environment known to man, with no training of any kind, and see how it went? What was going through your head?" I giggled as Jake glared at her. He was such a stubborn person. I was pushing my finger against the gel that was under me.

"Maybe I was just tired of doctors telling me what I couldn't do." I frowned. I knew how Jake felt. She closed the upper clamshell.

"Relax and let your mind go blank…That shouldn't be too hard for you."

"Kiss the darkest part of my lily white…" He was interrupted luckily. She turned and moved over to me.

"I thought you already knew what to do." She stood in front of me with her arms folded a crossed her chest.

"I do...I need to tell you and Max something before I link. I didn't want Jake and Norm to overhear. Didn't want to worry them." Grace motioned for Max to come over and they stared at me. I pushed my hand into my pocket and pulled out the medical pump. "If I am under more than four hours I need to have this attach. It is good for a few days." Max helped adjust my pump and adjusted the right dose.

"Well at least you told us before anything happened. Lay down kiddo and let's get you into your new body." She pushed me down slowly and pulled the mesh cage thing over me and closed the top shell. I laid there a moment and then shut my eyes. Clear my mind. Let nothing hold me back in this body…

Bright lights flooded my sight. Or what I thought was my sight. It was rainbow. Pinks, blues, purples, and greens twisted around in a tunnel. I slowly opened my eyes. I felt dizzy and weak. Two figures that were blurry were leaning over me. I couldn't hear much but a mesh of words. Slowly I began to adjust and two doctors in exopacks were leaned over me.

"Ah, Ashlyn. Nice to see you. How are you feeling?" She snapped at my ears and I felt them twitch.

"Easy Jake you need to sit down…" I heard someone say. I turned my head to see Jake's avatar standing. I grinned and sat up. He could stand this is awesome.

"Jake they are going to put you out. You need to listen to them and sit back down." He didn't listen to Norm and was wiggling his feet. I stood up as well and giggled as his tail hit his shoulder. He whipped around ripping the wires from him and I laughed. He looked like a dog chasing his tail.

"Sedate him! Sedate him!" I heard the doctor yell but Jake had already busted out the door.

"I got him" I giggled as I ran after him. I could hear Norm struggling to follow after us. I kept up with Jake and laughed as I heard Norm way behind us.

"This is so cool!" We both laughed. Jake increased his pace and ended up a few meters ahead of me. He stopped not too far away in a little garden. He was digging his toes into the ground. I grinned. I knew he was happy.

"Hey kiddos!" We turned to see a female avatar. She was much taller than I was. She was very pretty. She didn't look like she was older than thirty.

"Grace?" Jake asked tilting his head a bit. I smiled.

"Well, who'd you expect numb nuts? Think fast!" She threw some sort of pandorian fruit towards him. He caught it no problem.

"Motor controls are good." Jake bit into the fruit and his ears perked. I grabbed it from him and bit into it.

"Whoa this is awesome!" She grinned at us. Norm finally caught up to us and was huffing and puffing.

"Hey check this out. I am a living god!" He was posing like a body builder. I couldn't help but laugh.

I sat on my cot that was next to Jake's Norms was a crossed from us. Grace had brought us in to get us some clothes and explained what we were going to be doing. I was turned to Jake watching him. He had his queue in his hand and was examining it. White tentacle things were twisting out of it.

"Oh that is so weird." I laughed. This caught Grace's attention.

"Stop playing with that. You will go blind." Jake set his braid to the side carefully. I laughed at him.

"That was so freaky." He lay down and sighed. I followed suit and lay back as well. I soon closed my eyes and saw the tunnel of lights once again and I opened my eyes to see the top of the link unit again.


	8. Chapter 8 Hallway Rollarcoaster

Chapter Eight- hallway rollercoaster

Jake had been pulled away from the group by one of the pilots. He was going to report to . I hated that man. He just brought back the memories of why I hated the military. I sighed as I wondered off to do my own thing. I wasn't going to eavesdrop on them. Didn't want to make Jake mad at me. Ever. I decided that I needed to go check in with the doctor on the base. I felt weak from my first link. As I walked down the hall I stared at the barren walls. They annoyed me so. One day I would have to add a splash of color to them. I grinned wickedly. But for now I continued to my destination. I would not get myself kicked out so quickly from the place I wanted to be.

_Two children sat at the kitchen table. One an older brother and the other the younger sister. The girl was sitting at the table looking down at a biology book._

_ "Come on Carter I am tired." The girl whined as her brother laughed and rubbed her head. _

_ "You need to learn this Ashy. If you don't you won't make it to Pandora. There is so much there .If you can get this down we can go together." She nodded her head and pushed her nose back into the book._

I shook my head as the random memory flashed into my mind. Carter and I were planning on being here together. But that was impossible now. I had no family. I separated myself from my parents. They blamed me for my brother's death. And they were right it was. I looked up to see the doctor's office. I knocked and waited for an answer. The door swung open and a tall man stood in front of me.

"What do you want?" I looked up at him and pulled my pill bottle out and shook it at him. He rolled his eyes and motioned me inside.

"Sorry to come so late but I was in a link session." He grunted as an answer and took the small bottle from my small fingers. He filled the prescription and then handed it back to me. I sighed and turned to leave. What was I supposed to do now? I guess I could go get something to eat.

Entering the cafeteria I grabbed a sandwich and sat down. I knew my body was hungry but I had no appetite. Why did I always have to make myself feel so down…I hated this. I picked at the different pieces of my sandwich and sighed.

"What's with the long face?" I looked up to see Norm. I gave him a weak smile and waved.

"I don't know. I just feel so alone here. I know I have you and Jake as friends…But I don't know. I came here because I have nothing left. No family on earth, nothing." I pushed the food away from me feeling sick now. I heard the rattle of my pill bottle on the table. Shit…

"What are these?" Norm sounded surprised. I looked up and quickly snatched them from his hand.

"They are nothing that concerns you." I stuffed the pills into my pocket and glared at him. He raised his hands in surrender.

"I understand, no questions don't worry." He set his hands on the table. Familiar tire squeaks alerted me of Jake approaching.

"Hey guys what's up?" Jake made his place next to me. I kept my head on the table and gave Norma warning kick under the table to remind him to say nothing about the medication bottle.

"Ashy, you feeling alright?" I flinched. He had come up with the same nickname that Carter had given me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and it rubbed me soothingly. I glanced over at him from under my hair. He gave me a soft smile.

"I am just tired. The link takes a lot out of me I guess. You hungry? I have a sub if you want it." He grinned as I pushed the food towards him. He was like a child, but also like an older brother at the same time. It was relaxing not having overly serious people around me. He stuffed part of the sub in his mouth . He tried to talk with his mouth full of food and norm wagged his finger at him. I laughed. The spectacle was so amusing.

"You should know better than to speak with your mouth full." I grinned into my arms. I couldn't bring myself to lift my head yet. I knew there were tears in my eyes from wanting to laugh.

"So…What did Scar face want?" They both chocked on a cough as I looked up at them. My blue orbs sparkled playfully. After the shock wore off they began to laugh. I guess they thought my nickname was entertaining. So did I. I smirked.

"He said I was brave to come here like this. And when I rotate home he is gonna give me my legs back. The government is going to pay for the spinal surgery." I smiled at that news. He deserved to walk again.

"That's great news. I am surprised grumpy could do something nice." The boys laughed at my names that I gave to Quaritch. They were only going to get worse as time went on. If I truly did not like someone I could be mean.

"Oh Grace is going out tomorrow and Norm and I are going. Trudy said I could bring you if I wanted." He grinned as he turned his chair from me. I stood up and glared at him.

"I know you told her that you were letting me go. You know Jake you are so dead if you didn't. I don't want to be stuck here alone. Sheesh Jake." I crossed my arms as I pouted. He just laughed.

"Of course I told her that I wanted you to come. I wouldn't let you miss out. So calm down you angry little pixie." My eyes narrowed at him. He did not just say that.

"_Pixie?_ Did you just call me _Pixie?_" He laughed as Norm watched. I could tell he wasn't sure if he should separate us or not.

"Okay hotrod. Look who is taller than you. I am not a pixie." I growled at him. He smiled at me and I couldn't help but return it. I grabbed onto his wheel chair and arched it backwards and started running behind him as he was only on the two wheels. He laughed as I ran out of the room and down the hall. We made people run and jump out of the way as I balanced myself on the shelf behind the wheels. Gliding down the hall we laughed like children. People shouted at us as papers flew down the hall. Grace popped her head out of the Bio-lab to see what all the commotion was and saw the two of us zooming down the hall.

"Millions of dollars and this is what I get…Damn." She shook her head and laughed as she ducked back into the lab. This hallway was our own little amusement park. A hallway rollercoaster.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine- Exploration and the chase

I entered the link room in pajama pants and a tank top. A few heads turned to me. What had they never seen a teenager in sleepwear? Well I guess I am not a teenager anymore. I was six years ago though. I guess technically I was like twenty –four. I shrugged and ignored the stares. I had my hair up in a messy bun. I stretched and walked over to Norm and Jake.

"You too? Sheesh. You would think you two would dress up before coming to work." Norm crossed his arms as I stared down at Jake who was also in sleep pants. We high fived each other and grinned. Grace entered the link room with a cup of coffee in her hands. She handed Max a clip board.

"Start calibrating. We're on the flight line in ten minutes." Max nodded and jogged off towards the link room. Grace turned and looked at the three of us. She raised a brow to Jake and I and we shrugged. She looked to Norm who was dressed up and smiled a bit.

"What did Attila want?" I laughed but disguised it as a cough. Norm smiled too. He knew I enjoyed giving scar face multiple names.

"Just Marines comparin' tattoos." I rolled my eyes and Grace didn't buy any of it. She could smell bullshit a mile away.

"Well listen Marine, you are driving an Avatar now and that means you are in my world now. Got it?" She gave him a look that she meant business.

"Got it." Jake bumped my knuckle and I grinned. We entered the Link room and Norm climbed into his and I climbed into mine. I adjusted my medical pump and looked to Max who nodded his head showing he had control over my doses.

"That son of a bitch has screwed up this program enough. All this…" She Indicated to the link room,

" exists so we can go out there and build a bridge of trust to these people who could teach us so much. But thanks to Quaritch and his thugs the Na'vi won't even talk to us anymore." I frowned. So I wouldn't be running into the Na'vi.

"How is this supposed to work then?" I heard Jake ask. Damn he didn't know when to shut up.

"We have a new face." She turned to Norm.

"You're fluent, you've studied the culture. You're non-threatening. The ones we know best… the Omaticaya clan...may give you a chance. Maybe you can get them back to the table before things go tits-up for good." I really didn't want the Na'v I to hate us. I found them so interesting.

"This is failing as a pep talk." I grinned at that imagining his stressed face. Jake was pulling up into his link bed. I could hear it. He was so loud. Not his fault though if you think about it.

"How do we contact them?" Jake asked. I was curious about that too.

"We don't. They contact us. If they see us taking our samples, treating the forest with respect… Not trampling everything in sight… they may reach out to us." I smiled I hoped they did.

"Or they may skin us and make us a drum." I rolled my eyes. Marines, they're not very bright.

"Just keep your mouth shut and let Norm do all the talking." She slammed his unit shut and made her way over to me. I smiled up at her and she returned it.

"You can speak Na'vi?" She asked.

"I can understand it perfectly. My speech is a little rough. I am not good at pronouncing things." She nodded and shut my link down softly.

"Make sure he doesn't get into trouble." I heard her through the unit. I smiled. I was Jake's babysitter. Oh joy.

We flew over a large carpet of forest. It was so dense you couldn't see the ground. It was beautiful. No concrete. No pollution. No factories. It was so nice. There was a man on one of the door guns and I grimaced some. I didn't like having him here. Jake was on the other.

"Sturmbeest herd, one o'clock." I heard through the com link on my neck. Norm grinned and pointed, excitedly. Jake and I looked in time to see a herd of sturmbeest. They were massive six-legged creatures reminiscent of buffalo. They were thundering across the river.

"Looks like a bull a six cows and some juveniles ." Grace said looking down at the small heard.

"The Bull has the red on the dorsal armor, right?" Norm asked and grace nodded her head approvingly.

After a few hours we arrived at a small meadow. The grass looked like large ferns. I grinned. This place was so pretty and undisturbed. Trudy landed the Samson and Jake hopped out grabbing the door gun. I frowned as he held it like something was coming. It was like he was itching to shoot something. I hopped out and flicked him in the ear. He hissed at me I just grinned. Grace moved to the front of the Samson and waved before touching the com on her neck.

"Turn it off we are going to stay a while." She said and turned to the other door man.

"Stay with the ship. One idiot with a gun is more than enough." I laughed as she looked to Jake who was still rubbing his ear from my flick.

"whatever you say, Doc." He laughed and perched himself on the side open door. Jake led us into the forest aiming his gun at the trees as if they were going to attack. Native wild life moved all around them. This place was more alive than any forest had ever been on Earth. I glanced over at Jake, his hold on the gun was so tight his cyan skin had turned white.

"Relax, Marine. You are making me nervous." I laughed lightly as Jake slung the gun over his shoulder and took the view in.

"How will they know we are here?" I heard Norm ask. I stopped and looked at Grace. I wanted to know. I wanted to meet them.

"I'm sure they are watching us right now." She said getting back to her work. I smiled and stared up into the trees. I could hear norm and Grace talking in the background I really wasn't paying attention.

I jumped when Jake touch my shoulder. He grinned and motioned with his head to explore. I nodded and followed after him. We ended up a few meters away from where Grace and Norm were. Entering Meadow of weird spiral looking plants I bent over and stared at it. It was very unique. Behind me I heard a SHTOONK. I turned around quickly to see Jake with his ears flattened, but they soon perked up as he grinned and reached out to touch another one. SHTOONK! Another one recoiled into a small cone shape. He turned to look and see if I had seen what he did. We gave each other matching grins as we started poking and prodding the plants and watched as they folded down. SHTOONK! SHTOONK! SHTOONK! SHTOONK! Soon they started disappearing on their own. We laughed but it was cut short when a heard of beasts were revealed. They were massive and they had chunks of bone coming out of their head in the shape of a hammer like that one type of shark. My tail wrapped around my leg as I moved to stand behind Jake.

The alpha I had guessed eyed Jake and his rifle. Damn it. Jake raised the rifle and aimed it at the beast.

"Don't shoot it, you'll piss him off." I heard in my com around my neck. I turned my head and looked to Grace. My ears were pressed against my head as I gave her a pleading look.

"It's already pissed off." I heard Jake hiss in reply. I was scared.

"Jake, the amours too thick. Trust me." She replied. I was shrinking further behind Jake and he began to back up a little. The beast roared at us and began to paw the ground as if it was going to charge.

"It's a territorial threat display. Do not run, he'll charge."

` "What do I do then? I have Ash with me." He growled lightly as he stared at the beast.

"Stand your ground." Grace replied. I let out a small whimper and Jake flattened his ears. The beast lowered his head and charged toward us. I let out a squeak and ducked as Jake ran towards it with his hands stretched out and screamed. It stopped abruptly and Jake grinned.

"Oh yeah! Who's bad? That's right?" Jake was happy and I sighed. That's when I heard a rustle behind me. I assumed it was Grace coming to get me from my fetal position.

"That's what I am talking about, bitch!" I rolled my eyes as I slowly stood up. The alpha beast turned around and ran back to its heard.

"That's right! Run your punk ass back to mommy. Ya motherf…." Jake was interrupted by a loud growling hiss. We both turned around to see the large sleet Black Panther alien thing. It launched over us and moved toward the heard but they put up a defense. Jake moved back to me and grabbed my hand and then spoke into his com.

"What about this one? Run, don't run? What?" He asked holding onto me tightly.

"Run! Defiantly run!" Jake bolted off dragging me behind with him. We jumped through some thick tree roots, as the creature slammed into it and clawed at the wood, but it detoured and as we were running through some bamboo plants it managed to catch back up to us. Jake and I came close to tripping over a tree stump, almost getting our legs bitten off by the creature's jaws.

Finding our ground quickly we flew through the trees almost, as our hearts beat wildly, and our breaths grew short. The creature clawed its way through the bamboo, occasionally using its jaws to rip the wood out of its way.

Jake and I ran under a large fallen tree, and the creature followed getting stuck for only a moment, before the rotten tree gave way to the pressure that was putting on it, which in turn large splinters of wood flew in every direction.

Seeing a tree up ahead and a cage like opening that we could squeeze through that the creature couldn't, we immediately ducked in, but that didn't stop it either, while we turned and watched as it tore at the roots around us. We crawled to the other side when it managed to get its head inside the place, but it switched over to the other side as well and clawed and bit the roots away. Jake in anger finally lifted his gun screaming, and baring his teeth, shot at the monster. Using gun I had been hiding in my bag but pulled out when we were running, I followed his example; I quickly found it didn't really phase the animal all that much. Instead it just pissed him off enough to lean in and clamp down on Jakes gun, and fling its head the other way disposing of it. Then it came back for mine as I leaned over Jake and continued firing. My gun was, almost in an instant, in pieces. Now without the threat of us shooting at it, the creature clawed its way inside the root like cage around us. Jake took me by the waist almost and hauled me out of there. Pushing me in front of him we began to run once more, but the Thanator was smart.

My lungs burned as we ran. Jumping over the fallen tree we had just crossed under, it outstretched his claws and Jake pushed me out the way was it drew Jake to the ground. I turned when I heard him grunt from the impact. I watched in terror as the monster took his bag on his back into its jaws and began slinging him around like a rag doll. I thought that was the end of him until he successfully managed to get himself unhooked from his bag. Jake was flown to the side in my direction. Helping him up the Thanator quickly noticed that the thing he was now chewing on was not his particular prey. It's antenna like whiskers perked up when it caught sight of us, and then it was on again as we shot through the forest.

Seeing the cliff up ahead, and the waterfall, Jake didn't hesitate as he took a hold of my hand and flung us right off the cliff and probably into our watery grave below. The creature barely had enough time to catch itself from going over as he roared in angry at us, and at losing its prey. The moment my feet met water it felt as if I had been thrown into a bucket of ice. Not because it was cold, but because the impact was so great. The water carried me a little downstream as I fought to get to the surface.

Jake grabbed me and took off my backpack. Jake hauled me up onto the tree branch as I coughed and sputtered, and inhaled deeply for air. "You alright," he asked as I merely nodded and said, "Yea, just let's not do that again please."


	10. Chapter 10 Saved

Chapter Ten- Saved

I felt light headed as my eyes finally opened. I looked around and found myself lying next to a fire. Groaning lightly I heard a shuffle and looked to see Jake moving to crouch next to me. He ran his hand over my forehead as I looked up at him.

"Hey I am so glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?" My whole body was sore and I attempted to sit up. His hand quickly pressed me back onto the ground.

"You really don't want to sit up it is going to hurt if you do." I rested back on the ground. We were hidden under large leaf plants. He sat next to me and started to carve into a branch, giving it a point.

"Where are we?" I croaked. He looked down at me and frowned. He tucked his knife away and looked at him.

"I have no idea where we are...Ashy, you are hurt. There are a lot of bruises and cuts on you. I think your arm is out of the socket. Just don't move unless we have too." He moved from me and walked around the perimeter of our temporary camp. He came back and grabbed my shoulder.

"We gotta move. There is something out there." He helped me sit up. Pain shot up my back and through my left arm. I cried out and he flinched at the sound. He slowly helped me get to my feet as he made me hold the makeshift torch. I could see movement around us, but I couldn't see what it was, however I had an irking feeling that it was the viperwolves, just from the cackling noises. The noises were getting louder, meaning they were getting closer, as Jake fought with the match to get it lit. Finally he managed to light one and the moment it came into contact with the sap it burst into flames. Swinging the lighted spear around he illuminated the area we were in and killed the darkness that hid the creatures that were now inching toward us. The viperwolves were even creepier up close than they were in the books or videos. They were as big as jackals, but their skin was leathery, shiny even. They had six legs, a long thin tail, and green eyes that ate at your soul when they caught your glance. Its lips curled back in a growl, and you could see its sharp canines, taunting you as it instantly killed any courage you had left within you. These animals were vicious, they were fast, small, and they'd cut right to the chase, right after playing with you for a few moments.

"Damn they are all around us." He hid me back in the plants. He looked like he went into Marine mode.

"Don't move. Stay still." He said raising the torch and going after the creatures. I curled up and closed my eyes shut. I was scared. I was frightened. Jake waved the fire in front of them, hoping it would scare them off, but instead it just seemed to provoke them. Watching as if in slow motion the creatures began to circle him, and quickly Jake's angry began to rise at this threat, "I don't have all goddamn night! Come on, Come on," Jake screamed in anger as I watched from behind the bush Finally one of the creatures lunged at Jake, and he turned in time and used the flaming stick to hit it as if it was the baseball, and he was the player holding the bat. The viperwolf flew with a loud yelp, right as one of its buddies jumped me. I hid with a spear. I was afraid for Jake, but I didn't want him to become angry if I came from my hiding spot. The viperwolves would know I was there. One jumped at Jake but he actually ran it through, but he didn't manage to get it all the way through as the thing landed with the spear still attached and ran away from him, taking the spear further from his reach. Jake pulled out his knife, right as one lunged for him. It took him down, but Jake rolled them over and sliced at its neck.

Jake grunted in pain as one of the beasts attack him again. A battle howl made me freeze. Peeking out from the bush I was hiding behind I saw a female Na'vi. She attacked and scared away the rest of the viperwolves. A whimpering caught me off guard as I tried to hear Jake talk to the Na'vi woman. She obviously heard the crying of the dying animal and made her way towards it. I shrunk back further in the bush. I watched as she stabbed it in the heart. I gasped and she looked over to the area I was with her knife drawn.

"_I'm not an enemy_."I said in Na'vi as I came out of the bush. Jake was at my side quickly helping me stand. The Na'vi woman stared at me.

"_You can understand me? What about him? Can he speak?" _I laughed lightly and shook my head.

"_No…Jake is just the muscle…He protects me."_ She smiled and then turned to look at Jake.

"_You should not be here. You two go back." _ His face was empty.

"What is she saying?" I glared at Jake. I looked to the female. I could tell she was getting annoyed.

"Thank you…that was pretty impressive." Now she looked up at him with a blank sort of stare, the annoyance was still very clear in her golden orbs.

"We would've been screwed if you hadn't of come along," Jake chuckled now as he finally realized he was alive, and it was all thanks to her. However now she simply ignored him as she stood up and walked away. I could tell she was done with us and didn't want to involve herself with us.

"Leave her be Jake. We need to find our way home. Do not bother the kind woman." I got a smile from her, but she turned to glare at Jake.

"You do not thank for this! This is sad. Very very sad, only!" I sighed as Jake raided his hands up.

"This is all your fault. Your fault." She motioned to the dead animals and to my injuries. I shook my head.

"_This is my fault. We were chased by a Thanator…" _She sighed and turned from us and took off into the forest. Jake ran after her in reaction and I followed at my own pace. I watched as Jake almost fell off an exposed branch.

"Jake!" she grabbed onto him just in time. I sighed in relief as I jogged up to him.

"Why did you save us?" I heard Jake ask as I caught up to him.

"Saved her, I don't know why save you." She said glaring at him. I pulled Jake back and held my finger to my lips.

"Why did you save me? You didn't know she was here." Jake crossed his arms staring at him.

"You have strong heart… No fear…," She leaned closer to him.

"But stupid! Ignorant like a child!" She stomped away.

"Hey! Wait!" She turned around and drew her bow but stopped. Little seedlings that reminded me of seeds from a dandelion floated onto my arm. They soon began to swarm Jake. He swatted at one and she grabbed his hand and hissed. With his other hand he swatted and I flicked his ear.

"What are they?" We both asked and she stared in awe.

"Atokirina'. Seeds of the Great Tree …Very pure spirits…" I stared at the seeds. They were so beautiful. I felt a warmth in my chest and my heart skipped a beat.

"Jake…" He turned around just in time to catch my arm. I heard the woman call out.

"Come!" Everything went black from there.

My eyes whipped open and my ears were greeted by the sounds of alarms and my lid was ripped from on top of me. I was met by Grace and Max who had frightened expressions. They were checking my vitals and yelling my name. I couldn't move or answer them.

"Get a doctor in here, now!" Grace's voice rang in my head as my eyes closed again. I was so weak. I had no idea what was going on. I woke back up and found myself in the medical ward. I was able to move and sit up.

"Gave us quite a scare." I turned to see Jake sitting in his wheelchair. He smiled at me and patted my hand.

"So why didn't you tell me you were sick? And don't worry, your avatar is safe. Neytiri's mother has you in a healer's hut." Jake's voice was pained but gave me a weak smile.

"Yes, I am sick…"


	11. Chapter 11 Confessions

Chapter Eleven- confessions

"Yes I am sick." I sighed. I didn't know why this had to come out so soon. But it did, and now I had to explain to my marine what was going on. I couldn't lie to him. He was practically family now. Norm too.

"If you get Norm then I will explain everything. I don't think it would be fair you got to hear and he didn't anyway, if he found out I don't want to explain this a seconded time. It is very troublesome." He gave a weak smile as he rolled out the door. Damn it. I was very tempted to lock my room door so they couldn't get in, but I knew it was going to have to be done sooner or later. I sat myself up slowly as I glanced around the room. White. Great. I hated the color so much. White was the typical medical color. No wonder so many died. I mean come on, white brings on the depression if you are stuck in it too long. The door reopened and norm walked in and held the door open while Jake wheeled in after him. As soon as I heard the snap of the door closing Jake started in.

"So what is wrong with you Ashy? You have me worrying to death." Jake had rolled back to the place right next to me where he had been earlier. I turned to look at Norm.

"You remember those pills you saw at the lunch table?" He gave a nod and I sighed. "Well I have a disease. It isn't a very nice one either. The cure for this is extremely expensive, even more expensive then getting your legs back Jake. This condition is rare. Before you two go jumping to conclusions you will listen to me fully. Okay?" I looked at both Norm and Jake. They both nodded forcibly.

"This disease it makes being paralyzed seem glamorous. Not trying to poke fun Jake. This is completely serious. My disorder is degrading my muscles everyday. It is very painful to make simply motions. " I paused seeing their reactions. They were watching me intently making sure I wasn't moving.

"Ugh you two are impossible. The medicine I have it helps dull the pain. The most I feel is numbness or like my arms and legs are asleep, you know that prickly feeling you get when you are trying to wake 'em up?" Norm nodded, but Jake's eyes were still on me. I sighed.

"So how long have you been dealing with all of this?" Norm asked as he finally took a seat on the other side of the bed.

"I was diagnosed after my twelfth birthday." There was a mixture of emotions on both of their faces. Norm was sympathy, but Jake looked as Carter had when he found out what had happened.

"Well this job is paying amazingly. You will have enough money when you rotate home to pay for the cure, right?" My face went pale at Norm's observation. Yes this job did pay well, but if the doctor was right. I wouldn't make it back to earth. I had a max of four years remaining on my life. Jake noticed my silence.

"Ashlyn, what is it you aren't telling us?" Jake said. I could hear the pain in his voice. He was doing good at hiding his emotions on his face, but his eyes and tone gave him away.

" I won't be able to rotate back to Earth, not that I would want to anyways. I mean Pandora is an amazing place. But yes, Jake there is something I am not telling you. I was told before I signed on for Pandora I had a max of ten years remaining on my life. It took nearly six years to get to Pandora, so if you do the math..." I looked at the thin blanket pulled up to my lap.

"You have about four years…" I heard Norm finish for me. I meekly nodded unable to speak. It was already hard. This was news I didn't want the two of them to know.

"Does Grace and Max know?" Jake asked trying to find something else besides the talk of how much time was left for me.

"They know I need medicine, they don't know what exactly for though.." I added softly. The door opened and Grace entered.

"Ah I heard you were awake. I was wondering where these two knuckle heads had disappeared too." She had a bright smile on her lips as she sat on the corner of the bed.

"So we found why you had your little episode. Your medicine pump had a kink and wasn't giving you your proper dosage." She patted my hand and looked to Norm and Jake.

"What are up with you two?" Norm looked Down and Jake was still staring at me. Grace's eyes turned to me.

"You see this is why I didn't tell you two, people treat me differently when they know." I huffed as I sat back and crossed my arms. They both flinched as I moved.

"really? You guys are unbelievable. I am **fine**." Rolling my eyes I looked to the confused Grace. Once again a sigh escaped me.

"I guess I should tell you as well, since these two numbskulls most likely won't be able to keep a secret." Grace crossed her arms as she gave me a look.

"And what would this secret be?" She asked a suspicious tone in her voice.

"Well you know how I need my medicine on a planned schedule?" She nodded, and I continued."My medicine is to numb the pain from the disease that I have. My muscles are deteriorating and moving causes my body extreme pain. So when I do not get the medicine my body goes through painful spasms. " Grace looked at me her expression did not change but her eyes softened.

"That isn't even the worse part. " Norm butted in earning one of my deadlier glares. He leaned away back into his chair.

"Thanks Norm, but he is right. Before I went on the six year trip I was given my expiration date." I grimaced as Grace scowled at my choice of words.

"So how much time do you have left?" She asked a bit of her emotions showing now. I could tell that she truly did care.

"Well the doctor told me I had about a max of maybe ten years. But I spent nearly six years on the voyage out here. And my contract is to stay here for five years and I was given the option to rotate back to Earth, which would take six more years. So simple math. Pandora will be my grave." Everyone went silent and I frowned a bit. I felt a little bad for being blunt. But I needed to be. They were going to find out, and there was no way I could candy coat it.

"Well I guess these are going to be the most memorable ending years. I will make sure you experience everything that Pandora has to offer." She smiled and place her hand on my shoulder. "But for now you need to get some more rest. You will be re-linking tomorrow, and you will need all the strength that you can get." I smiled. She wasn't treating me any different.

"Why couldn't you two act like that? I mean come on." I grinned teasing them and shook Jake's shoulder trying to get him to relax. He gave me a crooked grin. "See that is the Jake I want to see." He just reached up and ruffled my hair.

"Get sleep cause you and I are going back to the village. Neytiri is going to be my teacher. Depending if Mo'at lets you out of the healer's shack you might get a teacher as well." I smiled at that.

"I can't wait." I smiled and he nodded his head for norm to leave and he followed him out. It was nice to tell them, it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.


	12. Chapter 12 Mother Mo'at

Chapter 12- Mother Mo'at

The next morning I changed into a white tank top and had some tan shorts on. I exited the medical ward and made my way down the hallway. Squeaking of the rubber tires against the manolium floor made me smile. I turned around to see Jake pumping his chair towards me.

"Hey there." I smiled as he slowed down to match my pace. He grunted in response. I guessed he was still tired.

"Sorry not really awake yet. Let's go grab some grub." I laughed lightly and followed him into the cafeteria. We grabbed something quickly and then ran to the lab. Grace came out with a stack of cards and moved to stand next to Jake.

"Alright we need to do a quick refresher course over the names. I don't want you to look like an idiot. You cannot ruin this chance." Jake grunted as we started towards the link chambers. Jake pumped his chair a crossed the lab as Grace and Norm were flanked on his right and me on the left. Grace held up stereo still pictures in front of him. One at a time, they were images of the clan members apparently. She was doing a flash card drill thing.

"T'su'tey" Jake said to the photo being held in his face. Grace wacked him with the card.

"No, it is Tsu'tey." She said holding up the next picture.

"Mo'at." He replied and she changed the pictures

"Eytukan." Jake said proudly making me smile. Norm was a bit upset. My guessing was because he was not the one in the village. But that was no reason to be sour. Next time he can get himself into trouble.

"He's the clan leader." She lifted up the picture of Mo'at next to Eytukan's. "But she's the spiritual leader. Like a shaman." We entered the link room.

"Got it. So who's this Eywa?" That simple question caused Norm to snap. I sighed. The boy needed to calm down before I popped him in the head.

"Who's Eywa? Oh, only their deity. The Great Mother. The goddess made up of all living things. You'd know that if you had any training whatsoever." Jake wheeled his chair around to go to his link bed while I elbowed Norm giving him another glare. I watched as Jake hauled himself into himself from his chair into the Link.

"Who's got a date with the chief's daughter?" He teased.

"Knock it off. Jesus, it's like kindergarten around here." Grace said as she rubbed her temples. I grinned looking over at Grace.

"So that means I am the favorite student right?" She only shook her head and grinned. Jake had settled into the link bed as I watched Grace input the controls for the link.

"Neytiri was my best student. She and her sister Silwanin. Just amazing girls." I heard Grace say and Jake sat up.

"I didn't meet the sister." He said looking up at grace. I could tell he was trying to remember the names he had heard. You could practically see the smoke coming from his ears as he tried to figure it out.

"No she's dead." I frowned at the words and moved over to my link that Max was standing by. I watched as Grace turned towards Jake.

"Okay, let's go…Village life starts early. " I sighed listening to Grace's words. Max turned to me and smiled.

"Link is ready." I nodded and lay in my bed. Grace closed Jake's lid but I did catch her telling him not to do anything stupid before Max closed my lid. Once again I let my mind rest and the colored tunnel showed. My eyes slowly opened. I groaned lightly and felt a hand on my forehead.

_"Ah, you wake. How are you feeling?"_ I looked up to see an older woman. She was on one of the flash cards. Mo'at. If I was correct. She was like the queen of the clan. The spiritual leader.

"_Much better, thank you…Where am I?"_ I knew where I was but I couldn't let her know that. I mean I wasn't a spy, but I didn't want to look suspicious to her.

"_You are at home tree. What is your name Child?"_ Her voice held power and authority, but also softness and kindness. I smiled lightly.

"_They call my Ashlyn…Jake Sully calls me Ashy or Ash for short."_ The na'vi woman nodded her head.

"_Then I shall call you Ashlyn or Ash. Like the remains of a dead fire."_ She seemed to be content on calling me either.

"_What may I call you?" I _asked tilting my head.She smiled as she checked my arms and face to make sure there was nothing wrong.

"_You may call me Mo'at or Mother Mo'at, child." _ I smiled. It was very rare from what I learned from Grace that the clan took to the outsiders. But Mo'at had given me permission to call her mother.

"_My daughter Neytiri brought you and Jakesulley, here after you collapsed. Your friend is now learning the way of the People. You may as well if you feel up to it. But for now you will rest and meet the village." _ She placed a hand on my head before she walked off. I sat there for a few minutes. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. If I did my link would be broken. I slowly sat up and finally stood up. I blinked noticing what I was wearing. I could feel my face beginning to flush. I had what was like a bikini with two long pieces of fabric in the front and the back. The top I was wearing was moss and vines that looked like they grew a crossed my breasts covering them from view. I pushed the moss covering the door way and raised my hand to block my sensitive eyes from the sun light. I looked up to see what reminded me of a gothic cathedral overhead. The Sunlight streamed down through the gaps of the towering vaults. Walking among the villagers I smiled as I watched them go about their daily tasks. To my right a group of young girls sit together, weaving and singing. They gave me a quick glance but then looked away. Further ahead there were some men cleaning the fish they had caught. They didn't look at me, which I was grateful for. It would be a bit awkward. I wasn't used to wearing such revealing clothing. A mother was pounding seeds into a meal, while nursing her infant. Children chased each other and climbed like monkeys making me giggle. I remember when I had done that as a child. A little girl ran up to me and poked my tail. I turned around forgetting I had it and she bit her lip shyly. I gave her a smile and she giggled running back to her playmates. I smiled and walked around the village.


	13. Chapter 13 Muddy Relations

Chapter thirteen- Muddy relations

It was boring without Jake, I hadn't even seen him at all. And it was the middle of the afternoon. I didn't even see him at lunch. Mo'at had found me and brought me to sit next her mate and Tsu'tey. Her husband the clan leader liked me well enough. He even had a strange smile when I called Mo'at Mother. Tsu'tey on the other hand was grumpy.

"_And what of this demon? What are we going to do with it?" _ Tsu'tey motioned his head toward my direction. I kept quiet as Mo'at brought a cup to my lips. It reminded me of herbal tea as I drank it. She would pat my back.

"_She is mere child. She is not yet even ready to start to become one of the People."_ Eytukan responded to the warrior next to him. Tsu'tey scoffed as he glared in my direction.

"_Just because I am younger than you, warrior. Does not mean you can disgrace me right in front of me, have some dignity and do it when I am not within ear shot." _ I remarked I took another sip of the herbal tea Mo'at was making me drink. I saw a smile on Mo'at's lips and shock crossed both of the male's faces. Mo'at ran her fingers through my hair and I smiled.

"_You speak the language of the People?" _ I nodded to Eytukan's question. I could tell Tsu'tey was not happy that I was able to speak.

"_ I am not as uneducated as Jake, but I am younger. By three years. Or seasons." _ I smiled kindly towards Tsu'tey and Mo'at looked at him. He gave a forced smile. "_Please excuse me, I am curious on how my friend is doing."_ Mo'at touched her finger to her head and gave a nod. I nodded back as I stood to go find Jake.

The warmth from the sun made me smile. It felt amazing on my skin. In the distance I saw Jake and Neytiri. I grinned walking up to them.

"Jake!" I called waving to him. He smiled and motioned for me to come over to him. He ran his hand over a large direhorese. "Wow, it is huge." I said running my fingers a crossed the beast. Neytiri moved passed Jake and stood in front of me.

"How are you feeling?" Her voice was heavily accented. I smiled as I looked up at her. She was a little bit taller than me, but not much.

"I am much better, thank you." She turned back to Jake and motioned to the horse. She pointed to his queue and to one of the antennae things. Jake bent one of the antennae down to the tip of his queue. I watched as he hesitantly touches them together and I watched as the tentacle thingies from each of them interweaved. Jake's pupils dilated and his mouth dropped open. I giggled lightly at his reaction. The horse neighed nervously. Neytiri touched her fingertips to its snout and rubbed gently.

"This is Shahaylu…the bond. Feel her heartbeat, her breath. Feel her strong legs." Jake had closed his eyes as he focused. "You may tell her what to do.. ." She touched her head. "Inside. But for now, say where to go." Neytiri lead me back away from the two.

"Forward." Jake said with a strong voice. The horse launched into a full gallop. Jake flopped around, looking like he had no idea how to sit on the animal. A moment later he was thrown off and landed in the mud. I burst out laughing as I watched him. Neytiri giggled as well. Who wouldn't? It had to be the most amusing thing I had ever seen. I was still snickering as he brushed the mud off his knees and ass as Neytiri lead the horse back to him.

"Again." She ordered. Jake mounted the horse and was promptly thrown off a few more times. I never laughed so much in my life. Sure it was at the expense of my friend. But he seemed contempt on making me smile.

Jake once again had fallen off and back into the mud. He had landed face down in the mud of the riverbank and slowly pulled himself up. I looked up hearing the thundering sound of gallops in the shallow river. Two horses made their way up to Neytiri. One Tus'tey, the other another a random hunter. Jake stood up covered in mud as tus'tey glared at him.

"You should go away." Tus'tey's voice was heavily accented. Jake turned towards us and grinned.

"I knew this guy could speak English." I shook my head and laughed.

"_This alien will learn nothing. A rock sees more."_ I rolled my eyes as I looked to Jake. He was picking mood from his mouth and not paying attention.

"_Once again warrior, you should be wiser on how you speak and around whom. I know your language. Insulting my friend is rude." _ I crossed my arms as Jake looked down at me with a goofy grin.

"He would miss me too much if I left." I couldn't help but giggle as Neytiri hit the back of Tsu'tey's horse to get him to go. I crossed my arms as I watched him go.

"So annoying…" I mumbled to myself. Neytiri brought the direhorse back to Jake.

"Again."


	14. Author Note 1

Hey you all, sorry I have not posted in a lonnnnnnnng time. X.x I feel bad about that. But good news I will be trying to update soon. I really love this story and I am happy that others do as well. I am going to say this though. I am going to switch to anime fan fic mode for a lil. I am going to do a Naruto, Full Metal alchemist Brother hood. If you have certain parings you would like to see or would like to be the main character please don't hesitate to ask.I am always looking for characters :D You might even see yourself thrown into my other stories as well. ^^ So if you want to be in a story send a message. I will get back to you asap. Make sure you give name, age, looks, features, personality, likes, dislikes or anything else you can think of. Looking forward to it. :D


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